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Sri Lanka won their first series since the 2-0 win over New Zealand in 2009. Between then and the start of this series, they had lost five series and drawn three series.

Pakistan, on the other hand, lost their first series since the 3-1 defeat in England in 2010. It is also Pakistan's second consecutive series defeat in Sri Lanka after the 2-0 loss in 2009.

Asad Shafiq's century is his second in Tests and the first against Sri Lanka. He has now scored 894 runs at 42.57 with two hundreds and six fifties.

The 81-run stand between Shafiq and Adnan Akmal is the third-highest partnership for the ninth wicket for Pakistan against Sri Lanka.

Kumar Sangakkara's aggregate of 490 runs in the series is the highest by a Sri Lankan batsman in a home series against Pakistan. It is the fifth-highest series aggregate overall for a Sri Lankan batsman.

With another half-century, Sangakkara took his tally of fifty-plus scores against Pakistan to 17. He equals Sunil Gavaskar's record for the most fifty-plus scores against Pakistan.

A placid track on the fifth day provided Sri Lanka an ideal chance of pushing for victory by chasing down 270 in the allotted 71 overs, a result that looked a strong possibility after an aggressive start led by Dinesh Chandimal. But his dismissal at the stroke of tea slowed down the innings considerably and, despite a fluent Kumar Sangakkara at one end, Sri Lanka's focus turned to securing their 1-0 lead. The change in approach squeezed the excitement out of the chase, but succeeded in ensuring Pakistan lost a Test series for the first time since that ill-fated tour of England in 2010. It was also Sri Lanka's first Test series win in nine attempts since August 2009, and the first after the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan.

Misbah-ul-Haq declared immediately after Asad Shafiq reached his second Test century prior to the lunch break. Shafiq added an unbeaten 81 with Adnan Akmal, who batted bravely with a broken finger to keep Sri Lanka at bay for more than 28 overs. In their defence of a target of 270, an all-out attack led by Junaid Khan was Pakistan's big hope of levelling the series, but with the pitch a contrast to days one and three, it was the batsmen who dictated the flow of the game.

When they came in for the chase, Sri Lanka had the option of batting out time instead of pushing for a win, given their series lead, but Chandimal's naturally positive approach delivered a promising start. Junaid and Umar Gul got a hint of movement with the new ball, and there were plays and misses. Tharanga Paranavitana reached out to a couple of wide deliveries, while Chandimal, against a round-the-wicket line from Junaid, was squared up by the away-going ball. His tendency to initially shuffle across and fall over gave Junaid a healthy chance of an lbw dismissal, but Chandimal middled the ball well. He slashed Gul through point, drove him down the ground and pulled him through square leg, all in the over before lunch.

Chandimal was largely cautious against spin, preferring to see off both Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal, who only got the odd ball to turn, but was quick to seize on opportunities presented by the seamers. Despite the presence of a deep point, Junaid was thrashed twice through the cover region, also prompting the bowler to go back to bowling over the wicket. As the field spread out, he pulled short deliveries towards deep square leg, drove past mid-off and ensured a steady flow of singles and twos. Sangakkara gave him solid company in an 88-run stand.

Sangakkara joined Chandimal after the opening pair had added 44 at more than four an over. On a pair, he got going quickly, cracking an incoming delivery from Junaid through extra cover and cutting him past point. Fumbles, byes, overthrows, and singles were in supply, and Sri Lanka were going along smoothly, but Chandimal was keen to press on. After he'd launched Ajmal over mid-off for four, he tried repeated that feat in the over before tea, but failed to clear Shafiq, who held on to a sharp catch.

Even though Mahela Jayawardene fell playing a paddle-sweep, an attempt at improvisation, he'd consumed 43 balls before his dismissal. The first nine overs after tea yielded just 12 runs, that sense of urgency on show before lunch having disappeared. Sangakkara whipped Junaid for a couple of boundaries through midwicket, but any signs of the chase being revived proved deceptive.

The arrival of Thilan Samaraweera with 123 needed in 23.2 overs, ahead of power-hitters in Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera, was the first reality check. His struggles against the doosra continued until he was bowled by Ajmal after facing 20 balls. His dismissal was followed by three consecutive maidens, consigning the game to a draw. The chase was called off nine overs short of the scheduled close.

Shafiq's assured century before lunch had given Pakistan a fighting chance. Sri Lanka failed to pick up a wicket with the opposition eight down, and an injured player batting at one end. Had they looked to close the innings early, targeting both batsmen instead of just Akmal, they would have had a better chance of forcing a result in their favour. But they employed spread fields to Shafiq, who batted calmly in the company of Akmal, who proved more than capable of surviving.

After the first hour of the day, a message came out from the dressing room to step it up and Akmal played the reverse-sweep for four, while Shafiq slog-swept Rangana Herath for four more. Amid a spate of singles through square leg, midwicket and on the off side, Shafiq also struck Perera through long-off and deep extra cover, before getting a top-edge to the fine-leg boundary. He brought up three-figures half an hour before lunch. At tea, Sri Lanka were favourites. But their priorities changed after that.

Sry guys got mixed up like a doofus between the first and second tests...my bad..

stephan
on July 15, 2012, 14:42 GMT

Firstly congrats to the SL team on a well deserved series win...PAK started strong in the first test with a huge score but the fact that SL were able to draw that test was in my humble opinion a big turning point...@ EL_TORO_LOCO:Can you name any other team that has won a world cup at home apart from India???Oh wait a minute there was umm, well ahh...Hum and then there was ..Ah..Wait, what!?...Thats right, no team has managed it, so India was successful in achieving a very rare feat...one not achieved by any one before them...so plz dont post comments for the sake of posting them...sorry guys i realize this is a SL VS PAK thread but comments like this really get my goat...@ Sinhaya: By reading the comments in his posts,it can safely be concluded that @sobersfan is infact a PAK fan...

Prashan
on July 15, 2012, 13:32 GMT

@sobersfan, Sri Lanka are a good test team and that is why England are hosting us for the 2014 and 2016 summer, check the FTP. Anti Lankans like you will get shocked of course. Sri Lankan batting is far superior to Pakistan and no one can deny that. Why is Sangakkara ranked no 1 in tests today? Sangakkara will soon be the fastest to get 10,000 test runs. I believe you are from Windies as per your name. I adore Windies a lot and always support them for a fact no matter how much you dislike Sri Lanka. I am glad Windies have won the ODIs 3-1 at last. Hope Windies win the tests against NZ 2-0.

Prashan
on July 15, 2012, 13:26 GMT

@sobersfan, an anti Lankan like you will never give any credit to Sri Lanka. Mahela opted not to chase mainly to ensure we won the series. Mahea, Thilan, Prasanna, Dilshan all have test tons away from home including at green tops. Look at their stats please. When did South Africa win a test series in Sri Lanka? Sri Lankans can play on green tops and that was why Dilshan scored 193 at Lords, Prasanna score a ton at Cardiff and Thilan Samaraweera scored consecutive test tons in Durban and Cape Town. Admit that is the truth! No way can Pakistan destroy us as we managed to hold them to 1-0 in UAE and remember in the Sharjah test, rain saved Pakistan!

adithya
on July 15, 2012, 4:34 GMT

@sinhaya,sl was lucky to win this series,next time pak will destroy sl.if ur sl batsmen are so great then why they were not able to chase the score on flat tracks.other than sangakara there is no sl batsmen play well outside subcontinent.mahela scored all his runs at colombo ssc and the current sl batsmen can't play in green tops.sl never won a test series in eng,sa,aus,wi,ind and this their first series win after three years.

Prashan
on July 14, 2012, 16:17 GMT

@sobersfan, Sri Lanka were the clear winners in the first test and no one could stop us winning. I know you cant fathom defeat but Sri Lanka excelled in both the tests and ODIs undoubtedly. Galle and Pallekelle were not dead pitches. Our batsmen are good in any condition and that is why they have scored test tons in all countries. Sangakkara is one of the greatest batsmen of all. We have beaten Pakistan in 6 tests before this in Pakistan so nothing can stop us from beating them at home. Sangakkara has a 182 in Australia, a double ton in Abu Dhabi, a double ton in Pakistan, a test tons in England and South Africa which clearly proves his class. Thilan Samaraweera is excellent in fast pitches and that was why he scored 2 consecutive tons in South Africa a few months ago. You are totally wrong.

adithya
on July 14, 2012, 10:24 GMT

the man of the series should be umpires.pak was unlucky in 1st test and that led to this series defeat.sl keep preparing dead pitches because ur batsmen performs well only in flat pitches.

Cricket
on July 13, 2012, 15:44 GMT

In the just concluded series Junaid Khan was getting 5-fers, also the Sr Lankan pacers were getting wickets, only Mr.Umar Gul was getting hammered. Same was the case even in the England series in UAE. Why is Gul's position in the team a given? . How long will Gul enjoy like this? Since the last two years Gul has played each and every match across all formats, including Bangladesh and yet his average is consistently deteriorating. How much more time do the selectors want to dump him ?

Cricket
on July 13, 2012, 15:39 GMT

Posted by hani2 on (July 12 2012, 17:03 PM GMT) :- I agree that Mr.Gul is taking his position in the team for granted. He never performs. Always gets hammered against better opponents, Hardly gets any wickets, his average is going from bad to worst. Gul's present average is 33/wicket couple of years back it was 31.xx . In the same period playing on the same pitches Junaid Khan has produced an avg of 27/wicket. In the just concluded SL series Junaids avg was 21. Ajmal is also maintaining an avg of around 27 on the same pitches.

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 15:27 GMT

Congratulations to team SriLanka on the series victory against Pakistan. Hats off to their disciplined performance in all the departments of the game.
In the batting department Pakistan team traditionally is always a slow starter. By the time they are up to speed, they are already close to loosing the series. They have chronic weakness of dealing with swing fast bowling and short pitch bowling. If the pitch condition is bad, then Pakistan batting line up go back into shell and can not take even a single and can not rotate the strike.
As far as fielding is concern, nothing can be said about it except it is the worst side in the world.
Bowling is considered to be strong point of our strength. Historically our strength was the fast bowling but now see how good we are in fast bowling, rather I can say, it is our weakness. We are banking now on our spin bowling only.
We need different type of team selection for Test, ODI and T20 and their Captains.

stephan
on July 15, 2012, 17:17 GMT

Sry guys got mixed up like a doofus between the first and second tests...my bad..

stephan
on July 15, 2012, 14:42 GMT

Firstly congrats to the SL team on a well deserved series win...PAK started strong in the first test with a huge score but the fact that SL were able to draw that test was in my humble opinion a big turning point...@ EL_TORO_LOCO:Can you name any other team that has won a world cup at home apart from India???Oh wait a minute there was umm, well ahh...Hum and then there was ..Ah..Wait, what!?...Thats right, no team has managed it, so India was successful in achieving a very rare feat...one not achieved by any one before them...so plz dont post comments for the sake of posting them...sorry guys i realize this is a SL VS PAK thread but comments like this really get my goat...@ Sinhaya: By reading the comments in his posts,it can safely be concluded that @sobersfan is infact a PAK fan...

Prashan
on July 15, 2012, 13:32 GMT

@sobersfan, Sri Lanka are a good test team and that is why England are hosting us for the 2014 and 2016 summer, check the FTP. Anti Lankans like you will get shocked of course. Sri Lankan batting is far superior to Pakistan and no one can deny that. Why is Sangakkara ranked no 1 in tests today? Sangakkara will soon be the fastest to get 10,000 test runs. I believe you are from Windies as per your name. I adore Windies a lot and always support them for a fact no matter how much you dislike Sri Lanka. I am glad Windies have won the ODIs 3-1 at last. Hope Windies win the tests against NZ 2-0.

Prashan
on July 15, 2012, 13:26 GMT

@sobersfan, an anti Lankan like you will never give any credit to Sri Lanka. Mahela opted not to chase mainly to ensure we won the series. Mahea, Thilan, Prasanna, Dilshan all have test tons away from home including at green tops. Look at their stats please. When did South Africa win a test series in Sri Lanka? Sri Lankans can play on green tops and that was why Dilshan scored 193 at Lords, Prasanna score a ton at Cardiff and Thilan Samaraweera scored consecutive test tons in Durban and Cape Town. Admit that is the truth! No way can Pakistan destroy us as we managed to hold them to 1-0 in UAE and remember in the Sharjah test, rain saved Pakistan!

adithya
on July 15, 2012, 4:34 GMT

@sinhaya,sl was lucky to win this series,next time pak will destroy sl.if ur sl batsmen are so great then why they were not able to chase the score on flat tracks.other than sangakara there is no sl batsmen play well outside subcontinent.mahela scored all his runs at colombo ssc and the current sl batsmen can't play in green tops.sl never won a test series in eng,sa,aus,wi,ind and this their first series win after three years.

Prashan
on July 14, 2012, 16:17 GMT

@sobersfan, Sri Lanka were the clear winners in the first test and no one could stop us winning. I know you cant fathom defeat but Sri Lanka excelled in both the tests and ODIs undoubtedly. Galle and Pallekelle were not dead pitches. Our batsmen are good in any condition and that is why they have scored test tons in all countries. Sangakkara is one of the greatest batsmen of all. We have beaten Pakistan in 6 tests before this in Pakistan so nothing can stop us from beating them at home. Sangakkara has a 182 in Australia, a double ton in Abu Dhabi, a double ton in Pakistan, a test tons in England and South Africa which clearly proves his class. Thilan Samaraweera is excellent in fast pitches and that was why he scored 2 consecutive tons in South Africa a few months ago. You are totally wrong.

adithya
on July 14, 2012, 10:24 GMT

the man of the series should be umpires.pak was unlucky in 1st test and that led to this series defeat.sl keep preparing dead pitches because ur batsmen performs well only in flat pitches.

Cricket
on July 13, 2012, 15:44 GMT

In the just concluded series Junaid Khan was getting 5-fers, also the Sr Lankan pacers were getting wickets, only Mr.Umar Gul was getting hammered. Same was the case even in the England series in UAE. Why is Gul's position in the team a given? . How long will Gul enjoy like this? Since the last two years Gul has played each and every match across all formats, including Bangladesh and yet his average is consistently deteriorating. How much more time do the selectors want to dump him ?

Cricket
on July 13, 2012, 15:39 GMT

Posted by hani2 on (July 12 2012, 17:03 PM GMT) :- I agree that Mr.Gul is taking his position in the team for granted. He never performs. Always gets hammered against better opponents, Hardly gets any wickets, his average is going from bad to worst. Gul's present average is 33/wicket couple of years back it was 31.xx . In the same period playing on the same pitches Junaid Khan has produced an avg of 27/wicket. In the just concluded SL series Junaids avg was 21. Ajmal is also maintaining an avg of around 27 on the same pitches.

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 15:27 GMT

Congratulations to team SriLanka on the series victory against Pakistan. Hats off to their disciplined performance in all the departments of the game.
In the batting department Pakistan team traditionally is always a slow starter. By the time they are up to speed, they are already close to loosing the series. They have chronic weakness of dealing with swing fast bowling and short pitch bowling. If the pitch condition is bad, then Pakistan batting line up go back into shell and can not take even a single and can not rotate the strike.
As far as fielding is concern, nothing can be said about it except it is the worst side in the world.
Bowling is considered to be strong point of our strength. Historically our strength was the fast bowling but now see how good we are in fast bowling, rather I can say, it is our weakness. We are banking now on our spin bowling only.
We need different type of team selection for Test, ODI and T20 and their Captains.

Balaji
on July 13, 2012, 15:15 GMT

Maybe they could have promoted the likes of Perera and Matthews after Chandimal fell and used the experience of Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Samaraweera to close shop if things went wrong. Quite clearly not having won a series was also preying on their mind. Anyway well done Sri Lanka. The biggest positive Pakistan can take is the continuing improvement of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. They also need to rebuild their new ball attack. I am surprised by Pakistan not trying young fast bowlers. They always used to throw in a lot of young guys, who were quite sharp. Has the assembly line dried up?

Jon
on July 13, 2012, 12:51 GMT

I simply can't believe the way SL approached this chace. They had to score at just over 3 an over and gave it no go. I have heard that England are a boring boring side, but there is no way we would have plodded for the draw in these circumstances. I used to be a huge fan of SL cricket, but this has put me off massivley. I feel sorry for all the SL fans, they deserved to win the series 2-0.

Amjad
on July 13, 2012, 12:10 GMT

@sinhaya: When you are that gifted to accurately assume and presume so many scenarios such as Pak would have made this much and then in reply we would have made that much then tell me something, whats the point of playing cricket on the field? You just play out a match in your head and post it online and that would be it. Why bother with so much expenses and players going from one country to another? Whats wrong with admitting that it was a game riddled with blunders and those umpires touched the height of incompetence.

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 12:02 GMT

OMG ! Lankan batsmen did NOT chase down the target even on their DEAD FLAT TRACK and went for a DRAW. Hmm..it seemed logical, they were surely playing for "A RECORD" as they had NOT won a single series in their last 9 attempts without Murali as stated in article. Damn ! Sanga and Jaya are my favorites. But they let their fans down. Shame on them ! This series win is of NO VALUE to me. They were sacred of Ajmal.

I
on July 13, 2012, 11:09 GMT

@Vilander agreed that Junaid shows a lot of promise, but he's not quite that quick. He does seem to have a talent for getting something out of lifeless pitches though, which is a very good talent to have. He should get a a consistent run, matched up with Cheema and Gul so they can form a reliable test-match attack. Sohail should be kept for the shorter formats, which he is better at.

@El_Toro_Loco : We do accept we fared badly last year.. But can you dare to say that "India can't win for sure" outside home? India have won series in England and drew series in Australia and SA which are too alien conditions for subcontinent usually.. It is ALWAYS easy for others to come and play in subcontinent as it favors batting for first couple of days.. but straight opposite for SC guys to tour away.. I wish all the SC teams prepare dust bowls and tests the visiting outsiders.. Oh yeah! ICC will warn the track which supports spin right!!

Mike
on July 13, 2012, 8:12 GMT

They could have easily brought Thisara Perera to bat after the dismal of Chandimal bcoz Thisara batted superbly in the 1st inning as well. If they also lost Thisara then they could have played for a draw. Losing Thisara's wicket never let them lose the match. To be honest the way they played was a black mark for SL cricket history. Since I have started watching SL cricket about 20 years ago I have never seen this type of negative cricket from SL. Though SL already have some players who have been around the test team for more than 10 years it seems like none of them have the back bone that Arjuna, Aravinda & Sanath had. So frustrated :(

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 8:00 GMT

Well Done Pakistan and even Sri lanka both....Pakistan because they made a match out from an almost hopeless possition,At First they strike Sri lankan Top Order pretty quickly after reducing for 226,Than they came back very strongly after threathening Game Changing 4th Wicket Partnership,Than after Conceeding 111 runs lead through vital contribution from lankan Tailender Pakistan had their backs arounfd the wall but than they keep on fighting till the end ....Nice test match even in draw

Manesh
on July 13, 2012, 7:43 GMT

@El_Toro_Loco. You completely forgot about the CB series win over Aus and SL. That was easy, isn't it? And your team too donot have any cup after the WC in away matches. So, why the fuss? Your team lost all home away series since 2009. India have atleast few series wins in that period.

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 7:29 GMT

India did the same against WI last year. India were NO:1 then and we know wat happened to them after that.

narbavi
on July 13, 2012, 7:23 GMT

@El_Toro_Loco: Oh really?? did westindies win in their own backyard in 07, or did south africa do it in 03 or did england in 1999?? Our team was consistent when we ran in to the world cup and we won, yes the last 12months haven't been good, but that doesn't take away our title, if you can be kind enough to mention which country you are from then i will be privileged to say a few more things!!

khurram
on July 13, 2012, 7:13 GMT

@Sinhaya on (July 13 2012, 00:59 AM GMT): mate i fully agree that 1st inings batting from pak was too bad . they cant hide behind bad umpiring but you are assuming too much. many of those were plumb read cric info comentry again for that. Sanga never got reprives but others did on other end.where did you see hawk eye by the way which shows plumb decisions as 30% balls?pak batting was very poor in 1st inings no doubt but stop making assumptions.

Pleasure
on July 13, 2012, 6:46 GMT

@ Narbavi: Winning any kind of championship, especially WC in your back yard (india) doesn't mean a diddly squat if you can't win a single game outside of your home country (india). Never seen this in any kind of professional sport in which a WC winning team gets massacred as soon as they set foot in a foreign country with in a few months. Ciao....

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 6:13 GMT

Congratulations Sri Lanka for winning the series.However,with Sanga going great on 74 and Prasanna & Thisara to follow SL could have gone on to win this game without calling it off.As the saying goes "Its not whether you won or lost but how you played the game" as SL could have closed the game in the event they were losing wickets continuously.I suppose these words do not apply in the modern game as the stakes are pretty high.The positives obviously for the SL team was the impressive performances of the younger players who supported the seniors in every possible way.I reserve my comments on Dilhara whom I think is a spent force despite the many opportunities given to him and his late 3 wicket haul.Keep up the good work Mahela & his team and congrats to Pakistan too for a really good series. Look forward to the next series with India.

joseph
on July 13, 2012, 5:58 GMT

If players like Sehwag, Gilchrist, Dilshan, Yuvraj were there during the chase of 120 in 23 overs, the match would have been won. Last year also while chasing 100 in 15 overs, ind went for a draw. USELESS Players around

DINESH
on July 13, 2012, 5:55 GMT

AAMIRKHAN: Yes, there are so many if and buts. You accept the fact that in today's cricket no team is playing good cricket outside their comfort zone including Australia. In UAE what SL received, they given it back to you. Thats all.

sohail
on July 13, 2012, 5:54 GMT

mahels falls is the cause of draw i think.
any way its time for youngs . misbah and younis you should ask by by cricket.

slog
on July 13, 2012, 5:44 GMT

THATS WHY SANGAKARRA AND MAHELA ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE GREAT PLAYERS EVENTHOUGH THEY HAVE MADE LOTS OF RUNS

Abdul
on July 13, 2012, 5:02 GMT

Sri Lankan pitches are best for test games in whole Asia. I really liked the way Pakistan played in this series. The best thing about this series was the batting of Pakistan which at least got better than before. Still need to develop some strategies in ODIs.

Andrew
on July 13, 2012, 4:55 GMT

Would of liked to see SL push for a victory, but any chase over 250 is not easy. Good to see Misbah set a declaration.

Anver
on July 13, 2012, 4:55 GMT

I wonder SL missed a golden opportunity... even on a 5th day chasing a target @ rate of 3.80 is certainly gettable. When Chandimal dismissed, with SL 8 wkts in hand & only a session and bit left & they were safe should have achieved the target. The result 1/0 is sweet, but 2/0 would have been sweeter !!!!!

narbavi
on July 13, 2012, 4:50 GMT

@Tharindu Ameresekere: Look who is talking, we are the world champs now and we were also the no.1 in tests 12months ago, but your team has just now won a test series after 3long yrs, how about that?? a test series win after 3yrs, my goodness, have you heard the term 'minnows' before??

SL were right in not attempting to chase the target that Pakistan set them, as an enticement to lose their wickets and the match. This was obviously not in their best interests and without Dilshan the chase was no doubt a risk, particularly against the quality bowling attack that Pakistan has. Everyone can have an opinion but at the end of the day SL were in the box seat as they were leading 1-0 and their main focus was to win the series which they did.

Mehul
on July 13, 2012, 3:55 GMT

Sorry that was @hoko not @bMike- I agree with you Mike.

Mehul
on July 13, 2012, 3:54 GMT

@bMike- Sport is not only about winning. It wasn't as if they are way off and the chase was aborted. It was a fantastic stage of match with very good entertainment and excitement on cards. That would have been the real aspect of a test match.l I would say they gave up because of fear and forgot about the spirit of the game. I don't care about series win in later three years or so...if a team is really good, will definitely win ahead.

Shehan
on July 13, 2012, 3:53 GMT

Although this is the first test series win of Sri Lanka after the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan, he didn't play in the series against New Zealand in 2009.

udendra
on July 13, 2012, 3:47 GMT

Now where was that 'positive captaincy' from Mahela?

Mohamed
on July 13, 2012, 3:15 GMT

Yes SL won the series, but they should have tried when there was 20 overs, they should have promoted Thisara, Kula, Rangana up the order keeping Mahela, Samaraweera, Anji down the order and tried for the win, would have been a excellent finish for the series. as SL has a quality side i expected a better finish.

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 3:09 GMT

well. what i felt was mahela was having a failing fear and memory of bad experiences of chasing . but he could send thisara, then nuwan and the prasanna. all there are very hard hitting can score run a ball very easily.if they collectively add another 40 runs t could easily reduce the margin and 3 overs for thisara even cold do easily when Pakistanis were defensive.that would reduce the margin to 70-80 as surely kumar would go for at least another 20-30. well it would allow easily with thilan and mahela go for rest .it was easily a one day match chase if we look at that dead rubber. but now all history..

Ivan
on July 13, 2012, 3:03 GMT

@bMike - Every player has a specific role in a batting line up, where Chandimal is a more attacking player than the other top order in this batting line up. With Chandimal being dismissed, it will be out of character for the likes of the others to take charge and jeopardise the 1 - 0 lead in the series. If this test was the decider for the test series, MJ could easily bring up Perera or Matthews to increase the RR. But this isn't the case. There is a plan for different situations.

Dummy4
on July 13, 2012, 2:39 GMT

@Deepak : Are yout taking of the Indian team which has not won a single tournament after WOrld Cup. So much for big heroes...

Prashan
on July 13, 2012, 1:05 GMT

@Muhaiminul Islam Jaan, Sri Lanka have done well overseas lately. Forgot how we won a test match in South Africa? Forgot how we entered the CB series finals in Australia this year?

Prashan
on July 13, 2012, 1:03 GMT

@Chirs-Cry, dont say SL pitches are dead. Have a look at Galle and P Sara stadium test match results. They are decision oriented pitches. Pallekelle too is result oriented but rain prone factor is the issue there.

Prashan
on July 13, 2012, 0:59 GMT

@Fezz, of course Sangakkara was totally untroubled in Galle with no reprieves at all. Yes Dilshan and Mahela got reprieves in the first dig and taking that into account we were well placed to score 350. Remember with DRS to get an LBW overturned 50% of the ball must hit the wicket and may not necessarily have been so had hawk eye been there as the ball tracker may only show 45% of the ball hitting. When Pakistan came to bat in the 1st innings, just see the way Pakistan batted. They batted the worse in that game in contrast to the 2nd and 3rd. They always looked uncomfortable against SL bowling meaning they never looked like posting a big total. Ok had DRS been there Pakistan may have posted 200 in the first innings. Afterwards, SL would have batted and posted 250 and Pakistan would still not end up scoring 400 to win at Galle!! Well as for Para's LBW in Pallekelle height was an issue and please check cricinfo commentary. Hawkeye may have shown that only 30% of the ball was hitting

Mike
on July 13, 2012, 0:35 GMT

I was surprised to hear Mahela's words that they gave up the chase when they lost Chandimal's wicket. No doubt Chandimal is a talented player but even he doesn't have a permanent place in test team yet so how come you give up chasing the target when you lose such a young player's wicket? Once they got 132 runs in 37.2 overs they only had to get 138 runs in 32.4 overs with 8 wickets in hand. It means 138 runs in 196 balls. Then Mahela comes & started blocking the ball!! What a shame. I have never watched a match like this :(

Ivan
on July 13, 2012, 0:21 GMT

To everyone who criticise MJ for not chasing for the win (and to the columnist), they did win. Didn't you see the big cup he was holding??? Good captains sees the bigger picture people. Chasing 270 on day 5 to jeopardise a series win, are you guys insane???

Mathew
on July 12, 2012, 23:58 GMT

Pretty good series for both camps here. Some holes in both sides but it made for a pretty good watch (when i could). There is no gulf between test side atm although Eng/SA do seem to have an edge. Would love to see more of these 2 teams, especially Pak who seem to be once again on the rise. Congrates to SL probably deserved the series.

Cricket
on July 12, 2012, 23:55 GMT

Posted by a.syed81 on (July 12 2012, 20:31 PM GMT):- I completely agree with a.syed81, Umar Gul & M.Sami should be dumped straight away. If by now they would have given decent opportunities to other Young fast bowlers like Sadaf Hussain, Rahat Ali & Mohammed Talha, then surelly one or two of them would have clicked like Junaid Khan. At this rate Pakistan are going nowhere. No point in just rotating and recycling old failures. Just forget Gul, W.Riaz & M.Sami and move on to some fresh blood.

Kristin
on July 12, 2012, 23:26 GMT

@deepak123 - are you sure about that statement? really sure? do you want to think about it first?? You claim that India would have 100% gone for it - I am guessing then that you forgot about the 3rd test against the West Indies last year, when India aborted their chase??

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 23:02 GMT

@deepak_123; I saw recently your great Indian team here in Australia was performing brilliantly against Aussies. Dont forget that mate. Was it a 5-0 whitewash? Well done to both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Comisarations to Pakistan fans, who were in good spirits even in defeat.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 22:36 GMT

2nd day rain saved pakistan from another humiliating defeat.Pak was lucky.In all three formats SL is way ahead of Pakistan.T20 draw was jst a fluke from pak

deepak
on July 12, 2012, 21:58 GMT

IF INDIA GOT THIS OPPORTUNITY I'M 100% SURE THEY WILL GET TO THAT SCORE WITH PLENTY OF OVERS REMAINING. YOU NEED SEHWAG KING OF BATTERS WHO CAN SCORE 200 RUNS ON HIS OWN IN A SINGLE DAY OF A TEST MATCH. SEEING THIS PITCH HOW PLACID AND DEAD IF INDIAN BATTING LINE UP GETS THIS CHANCE IT WILL BE SORRY FOR PAKISTAN. SL YOU MISSED IT!!!

Ryo
on July 12, 2012, 21:57 GMT

@Vilander: Ignore this mans statements. He's an Indian who's just trying to stir the pot. Vilander get a life.

deepak
on July 12, 2012, 21:57 GMT

IF INDIA GOT THIS OPPORTUNITY I'M 100% SURE THEY WILL GET TO THAT SCORE WITH PLENTY OF OVERS REMAINING. YOU NEED SEHWAG KIND OF BATTERS WHO CAN SCORE 200 RUNS ON HIS OWN IN A SINGLE DAY OF A TEST MATCH. SEEING THIS PITCH HOW PLACID AND DEAD, IF INDIAN BATTING LINE UP GETS THIS CHANCE IT WILL BE SORRY FOR PAKISTAN. SL YOU MISSED IT!!!

Adil
on July 12, 2012, 21:41 GMT

pak played better cricket than lanka but luck eluded pak.

Cool
on July 12, 2012, 21:39 GMT

@Vilander : It is only a matter of time before your superman Junaid starts bowling no-balls.

a
on July 12, 2012, 20:31 GMT

Pak certainly is missing an attacking bowler like Shoaib. Junaid is good but does not get any support from other end. I will prefer to lose by trying some young fast bowler (how about Mohammad Talha or Sadaf Hussain) rather than keep giving chances to unless GUL.. I don not see any passion or eager to take wickets in GUL and same goes for Younis Khan. Both are selfish and only fires once in a blue moon. Clearly I can see Pak playing with 9 players instead of 11

Muthuvel
on July 12, 2012, 20:29 GMT

junaid is swing bowler who bowls at 155-160k he is best in the world when compared to medium bowlers like umesh yadav, even kula bowls faster than yadav,aaron

Muthuvel
on July 12, 2012, 20:25 GMT

india is pathetic, sl and pak great teams.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 20:07 GMT

@Ramesh Dharshana Perera, Don't be too hard on Mahela. I saw all your comments regarding Him. I hope you can remember our last series againt Pakistan. Pakistan is a kind of team who can turn the game quickly. We have already won 1 match and 271 is not easy target in test cricket. Pakistan need to take only 3 wicket Sanga, Mahela & Thilan....Who is there to hold at the end ???

Rashid
on July 12, 2012, 20:03 GMT

Congrats to Srilankan team for winnning the series after a lapse of 2 years. You deserved the series win as you played better cricket than Pakistan. I am a Pakistan team fan and would like my team to do better in bowling department. They should have been able to bowl out srilianka in 66 overs .. It seems we are short of couple of good bowlers..

Mubeen
on July 12, 2012, 19:50 GMT

hard luck... ?
what u say about the umpiring errors.... where is ICC and DRS system ?

deepak
on July 12, 2012, 19:21 GMT

MAHELA SPOILED THE PARTY. SL ARE WELL PLACED FOR A WIN WHEN MAHELA CAME OUT TO BAT. THEY SHOULD'VE PROMOTED PERERA AS HE WAS IN GOOD FORM. THAT'S WHERE SRILANKA IS DIFFRENT FROM AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA ENGLAND AND INDIA. AN INDIAN FAN.

Nilantha
on July 12, 2012, 19:18 GMT

why are some SL fans not getting the point, we didn't NEED to win this match, we just needed not to lose...we won the series, that's all that matters !!! Pak fans, come on dont moan about decisions,some did go against you in the first match, but they did for us also...moan about your teams awful fielding, which may have cost you this series..not trying to have a go at you, just stating facts...

Kunal
on July 12, 2012, 19:18 GMT

A brave fighting innings by Akmal.He was clearly in pain but batted very well.And very poor defensive approach from Sri Lanka in the chase.The required run rate was not even 4.They had batted much better than this.Sangakkara was fluent but never showed the intent.None of the batsmen other than the openers seemed to be going for the win.The pitch was as placid as possible.Attacking batsmen like Mathhews or Perera were kept as spectators and Samaraweera was send in to play and defend even when they had lost just 3 wickets.Could have been 2-0 but god knows what happened to Mahela.It was very difficult for the bowlers to get 10 wickets if SL went for the chase as the bowlers were not getting much from the pitch.Surely there were very good bowlers but they were not that incisive as it could be clearly seen.Hope to see an attacking Mahela in the next series

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 18:57 GMT

@randika, no one is taking any credit away from srilanka but you have to admit that we were very very unlucky throughout the test series. I haven't seen many teams win when more than 10 decisions go against you in a single test. 2nd test would've been a draw even if it hadn't rained but this test could've gone either way. A drawn series would've been better because both sides were equal imho.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 18:55 GMT

Another irritating DRAW!!These subcontinent teams lack the killer instinct.They just want to win the series at a narrow margin and get the money!!Ridiculous!!

Charm
on July 12, 2012, 18:34 GMT

Well.. I'm a Sri Lankan..but if we really look at the test series as a whole, we have to admit that the 1st test was more or less decided by bad umpiring.. I mean there were way too many decisions going against pakistan and that sealed the victory for Sri Lanka.. On the other hand, Pakistanis should improve on their fielding cuz that too led to their downfall in this series.. Sri Lankans were okay but not awesome.. Still i dont see us picking up wickets regularly against more accomplished batting sides.. We need to develop more pace+swing bowlers to challenge those batsmen.. Sri Lanka should develop people like Junaid Khan of Pak for an example who can swing and seam the bowl at a pace of 140+.. Kula has the swing but not the pace.. Nuwan Pradeep can bowl fast but i saw not much swing/seam.. Overall this test series highlighted many areas that both sides lack.. Test matches are completely different from ODIs.. So we need much more accomplished bowlers to carry this victory forward..

Shahid
on July 12, 2012, 18:08 GMT

It was a brave and positive move from Pakistan to declare knowing the condition of the pitch which was heavily in favor of the batsmen. It's unfortunate that Pakistan did not win the match but they certainly came on top in the end. Sri Lanka should consider them lucky to win this series since they have been on the right side of things that no team can control, e.g. winning the toss and bat under the best of conditions all the time. The moment they made a mistake in Colombo they were punished big time. They were also very lucky in the first test for the same reasons plus a large number of umpiring blunders going against Pakistan. Pakistan should not be discouraged at all by this loss. If you look at the bowling and batting averages, Pakistan is on top.

Jay
on July 12, 2012, 17:59 GMT

Completely negative cricket by Mahela and the boys. This is not good for test cricket in Asia. Anyway, congratulations SL and hard luck to Pakistan.

J
on July 12, 2012, 17:45 GMT

If SL and Mahela continue this defensive/cowardly attitude, after another 3 years we will be hearing/reading that after Murali SL won only one series (the 2012 Sl/PAK). Murali is history. SL while cherishing those memories look forward and challenge yourselves to deliver and leave even more memories to cherish later. Murali is not the end of cricket in SL. Who knows there might be another genius lurking somewhere around. AUS hardly thinks about Shane Warne these days. That's the reason despite loosing many games they are still a formidable force.

amit
on July 12, 2012, 17:45 GMT

pak lost 1-0 and i have noticed pak fan's saying theey lost 1 match due to bad umpiring and 2 match drawn due to rain and 3 match also .....y dont you understand your team dont have good fielders we have seen lot's of simple catch drop by your team and bat'sman also ..you cant win match by giving 50% overs to ajmal he is not machine he must get rest which he dont get in 2 ining of last match :P

nikhil
on July 12, 2012, 17:45 GMT

This once again prooves beyond any doubt what an utterly useless team the current Pakistan team is . They are completely Inept when they play overall a period of time and they show all their ineptitude by playing the way they have this series and sparking spectacular self destructive collapses that they world renowned for. They lack the skill to compete in tests matches . They are on the same level as Bangaldesh. Sri Lanka should have won this 3-0 But Happy with
t he result.

Haroon
on July 12, 2012, 17:43 GMT

@Randika Sanjeewa: SL played a good test series no doubt. In the first test they were better, but made to look infinitely better than they actually were with over TEN umpiring errors (not borderline decisions, plain incorrect decisions.) In the second test, I'd say Pak had the upper hand. They scored 170 odd extra runs in the first innings of the second test, but rain played spoil sport on that occasion. In the third test, if the second day hadn't but washed out, who knows? The pitch was certainly more lively on the evening of the first test, as we pulled out three top order wickets. In addition we had the misfortune of an injured keeper, with Taufeeq keeping and then opening (and being given a poor decision again) Probably an even test all in all. I fail to see how SL were superior in every dept in the entire test series as you say. The one area where SL were streets ahead, was the fielding of course. I have nothing but admiration for the SL team and Mahela's captaincy in general.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 17:34 GMT

I was shocked at mahela's approach..27O runs in 71 overs..? u kiddin me ? thats almost 3 and a half an over..on such an awesome batting friendly track..what do u expect from the likes of sangakara,angelo,perera and also mahela..?they are quite familiar with aggressive batting ! BUt it was sad to see how the lankan's reacted..and also mahela should've been ashamed on roshan's question on the presentation ceremony instead of giving such stupid remarks..come on .. !

Bond
on July 12, 2012, 17:33 GMT

The only major difference was Sanga, who is a pure class. Pakistan lost the First Match because of some dreadful Umpiring which went mostly against them .Second Match was abandoned due to Rain and third should have been won by SL, on such a placid wicket.SL MUST prepare some bowling friendly wickets otherwise Indian Batsmen will punish you all day long on these kind of tracks.
Congrats to SL !! Better luck next time Pakistan !! Future looks good for Pakistan.
DRS should be mandatory for TEST CRICKET.Shame on BCCI who is against using it.

shiron
on July 12, 2012, 17:32 GMT

This is very poor cricket from SL team. They could fight to chase down the target. I dont think so SL fans not happy about 3rd test match against pakistan and what they did after tea break.1-0, or 1-1 , not the important for us. SL should show that we are fighting team against any team in the world. We love our SL cricket team, That's why we telling this.

Nilantha
on July 12, 2012, 17:32 GMT

well done to SL on a good game but more importantly a SERIES win finally. This is also against a very good team that has beaten us heavily recently as well as beating England and Aus...good performance from us and nice to see that Sanga is back in form (hopefully)..keep going Sri Lanka and lets thrash the Indians..

Cricket
on July 12, 2012, 17:29 GMT

Please alteast now forget Umar Gul and M.Sami. Gul is also the worst fielder in the world. PLEASE BRING IN YOUNSTERS LIKE SADAF HUSSAIN, RAHAT ALI & MOHAMMED TALHA and revive the Pakistani pace attack. Because at this rate pakistan will become the worst pace attack. Even in this series Junaid Khan was the only face saving player. Gul could manange only 1 wicket in the entire series, whereas on the same track Junaid and the othe SL fast bowlers were getting good success.

Lakpriya
on July 12, 2012, 17:27 GMT

This is one reason why sub continent teams don't go on to dominate world cricket. they don't have the killer instinct and the positive attitude. if a team like Aus was there, even with their depleted batting lineup they would have given this target a hot. you can always change their mind if things don't go well when chasing. SL pulled their shutters way too early. anyway good to have a series after some time. but 2-0 would always be nicer reading than 1-0. Good luck for the coming tours, at least SL team had started to move in the right direction after the disappointments of 2011.

J
on July 12, 2012, 17:24 GMT

@Oshan Nimesh @Mohamed Ijaz and all other who felt that SL should have gone for the win, I am with you guys. It did not start with SL batting but from the very first ball of the day, SL was on the defensive with their fielding allowing Pak to flourish. I wonder how Mahela is rated as the best captain around. In patches his tactics have clicked; particularly when winnings the toss. No big deal. I hope he has not set a president for young future prospective captains in the team. I would consider it as a cowardly act. Sports is not war yet it's a battle. The players are not soldiers but worriers. I would rather valiantly fight and fail than cowardly retreat. Shame on you SL. No doubt SL played better cricket than Pak only in Galle. Yet, now I strongly feel if not for the umpiring the results would have been 0-0. In fact SL did not win the series but Pak lost the series. Hope the people can see the distinction.

Cricket
on July 12, 2012, 17:24 GMT

Posted by Stark62 on (July 12 2012, 16:56 PM GMT):- Totally agreed with stark62, Umar Gul & Sami have long passed their exprry dates. Better bring in younsters like Sadaf Hussain & Mohammed Talha. Junaid Khan has done well to cement his place in the team. If Misbah and the selectors keeps delaying the hunt for new fast bowlers, Pakistan will loose the unoficial status of havig the best fast bowlers.

Keith
on July 12, 2012, 17:22 GMT

Well done SL, but it brings to light once again how desperately Test cricket needs greater context. Even the certainty of moving up the Test rankings was NOT sufficient incentive for captain Mahela or his think tank to play a more exciting and, yes, riskier brand of cricket. So SL remains 6th instead of going 5th. It simply did not mean enough to risk changing the batting order and having a dart at a challenging total with pinch hitters. So after three and a half absorbing days of play (1 day rained off), it all ends in a damp squib. Without a Test Championship system in place, Test cricket will continue to be handicapped like this and supporters will continue to drift toward IPL + other T20 leagues, which are all about context (standings, Champions League berths). It is time to listen carefully to what observers like Ian Chappell are saying, and for the ICC under its new management to act.

Waleed
on July 12, 2012, 17:18 GMT

Man of the Series : SL Grounds-man. Countries like Sri Lanka, India and a few others make such negative pitches that it not even good test cricket. Pitches were dead and flat as highways. And then you expect a result. Give me a break. ICC should step in take decisions in order to have test match with a win/loss result. I hate seeing draws. We, Australians, always make neutral pitches either for batsman or bowlers and fact that Aus have the more conclusive test matches than other nations. Thats the actual home-advantage SL have. Bring them to Eng, Aus and even Sharjah and they will fall apart. Show some sportsman spirit grounds man. People saying SL should have gone for the the win but I back Mahela on this and I believe he did the right thing. Overall, despite rain and all the dead pitches Pakistan fought well but Sri Lanka deserved the win. Next time PLEASE make neutral pitches and dont help-your-self here. Its cricket not dine-in buffet!

Ryo
on July 12, 2012, 17:11 GMT

Don't be too hard on Jayawardene, he was trying to preserve a series win. Most captains would do the same. Misbah and Dhoni have done similar in the recent past. On balance of play in this test series SL were marginally better. Pakistan fought hard but had no luck, you need that no matter how well you play. Positives for Pak are Azhar, Shafiq and Junaid, three players who could be playing Test cricket for over the next decade.

hani
on July 12, 2012, 17:03 GMT

Pakistan should immediately get rid of all the repeated failures of the past 10 years. Like Sami,Imran farhat and Faisal iqbal. Selectors should also keep check of Mr. Guls preformance. He just seems to have no competition, and is playing every match, despite of performing horribly.

Malith
on July 12, 2012, 17:02 GMT

Should appreciate Akmals effort with bat..anyway SL deserves the victory

Stark
on July 12, 2012, 16:56 GMT

I hope Misbah has learned first hand, what an aggressive batsmen is capable of doing to the opposition!!

SL would have easily chased down the target and I hope the selectors have, also learned a lesson by making sure Sami is NEVER allowed back in the team again.

Sadaf Hussain and Talha are much better than Cheema and Sami, plus Rahat isn't that bad either but was a bit unlucky on his debut.

Muhammad
on July 12, 2012, 16:56 GMT

look guys.....ok pak lost! but guyz i think it waz an outstanding performance by pak..n m not the least dissapointed at pakistan losing this series...! why? becux we gor more positives than negatives....definitely Asad,Azhar,Junaid n Adnan Akmal are big positives.... Akmal solely for the fight he showed which is so missing in his other brothers...! n i think Asad,Azhar n Junaid are Pakistan's future...! Pak need one more good wicket taking bowler..umar gul n sami r good for nuthin...so we need another good fast bowler...n then looking in the future we need 2 good established batsmen n a good wicket keeper...!!!pakistan's batting future looks strong with ASAD,AZHAR n Umar Akmal...buh we need 3 or 4 more Promising batsmen...to take wih that we need a good batting wicket keeper...! not kamran akmal..!!!

M
on July 12, 2012, 16:54 GMT

Why they didn't shuffle the batting order?????perera should have promoted to no.5.anjelo in to 6.but wishing good luck to the whole team for their brilliant efforts.jaya wewaaaa....

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 16:37 GMT

It's quite sad that pakistani fans not giving the SL team credit. Sri lankans have outplayed the Pakistan team this whole tour. I give props to the pakistan players as they put up a good fight after the ODI series. But SL was the better team overall, in both batting and bowling. I see many talking about the pakistani bowling attack this whole tour but even if Junaid is a top class bowler, the overall bowling attack of SL proved to be better. I do wish Mahela had gone for the win but at this point a series win is important to the morale of the team. If Misbah declared earlier (Pakistan fans blame slow batting by SL, but forget the snorefest from their batsman early in the morning) we might have had an even closer match, but even then Pakistan had no chance of winning this.

sigh next is the Indian tour, enough with these indian tours already. I rather see us playing against Scotland than the same old same old teams over and over again. It's boring.

Imran
on July 12, 2012, 16:36 GMT

Please put two hands of umpires and rain on trophy as well. They have a great contribution in this series win for srilanka. well played pakistan. Definately azhar and shafiq are future stars. parera is good batsmen and handy bowler in seaming conditions only. Umer gul,s performance in very poor in test.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 16:25 GMT

it was so unlike mahela. i was so much surprised to see the way mahela was batting. very disappointed as a sri lankan fan. there should be more positive than v opted a draw. with 8 wickets in hand y did not mahela batted like that? v would have won the series with 2-0. good luck for future series against india.

maruf
on July 12, 2012, 16:23 GMT

sl should try to win. they didn't do it at all. if sl at least try to do it, cricket would be win. here is the differance with aus, sa.

khurram
on July 12, 2012, 16:16 GMT

@EnglishCricket: looks like some one still living in febraury 2012 uae series? SL was ahead & in control in 1st match but when were they dominating in rest of 2? infact in remaining 2 matches both teams looked almost same. & today was a draw but very intersting day.Domination is something which we have seen from a no6 to no 1 in recent past when big talking people couldnt do anything. that is called dominating others.
congratulations to SL for 1st win after murli.

Cricket
on July 12, 2012, 16:05 GMT

Actualy if Mahela would have approached the game more positively he could have achieved the target. The pitch had become a real batting beuty. He should have promoted players like Parera and Mathews ahead of himself. But i think he became defensive because it was a long time since they won a series. He did not want to risk the series also i think he does not take the pakistani bowling attack lightly.

Cricket
on July 12, 2012, 16:02 GMT

Actually Misbah deserved to loose the match after making such horrendous blunders in selecting the 11. Cheema should have been preferred in place of Sami and an extra batsman should have been included in place of U.Gul. Gul has taken only one wicket in this series after conceeding 177 runs, he was better left out, or even Abdur Rehman would have been a better choice as he could bat also and bowl very tight spells to squeeze the SL batsman. However, this time Misbah was saved by the timely knocks of A.Shafiq, A.Ali and Adnan A. Junaid Khan was the brightest positive from this series. He took 14 wickets at an avg of 21 and Ajmal as usual took 15 wickets. Alteast now Misbah should stop calling Gul a spearhead of the pakistan attack. Ajmal and Junaid the the Pakistani spearheads. Pakistan will be better served without Gul and Sami.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 15:52 GMT

On such a goood batting track and with so many good batsmen Srilanka should have chased this target. During their series in the Gulf, Pakistan did the same by not opting to chase in the first as well as the third test. I am sure, Austrailia, England, India and SA would have given a fair fight till the end to win such matches and thats the reason these are sitting at the top of test rankings.

Some bad umpiring, and one horrrific batting innings cost pakistan the series

Prashan
on July 12, 2012, 15:50 GMT

@Aamir Khan, please admit defeat. Sri Lanka were by far the better side in both the ODIs and tests. Pakistan did fight well in the 2nd and 3rd test but Sri Lanka were true deserving winners.

Rici
on July 12, 2012, 15:46 GMT

Oh My God Sri Lanka !!! Thanks to amazing umpiring decisions won the first test I guess. Today they demonstrated that Test Cricket is getting boring because of them. What a mess ? Very sad very sad... Mr. Mahels jayawardena, if I were you, I would go to the home for elderly and relax.

Mujtaba
on July 12, 2012, 15:36 GMT

Congrats to SL team!!! The series was played with the right spirit but umpiring was not upto the standard. SL team needs batting talent because it was only Sangakkara who gave extreme tough time!!! In a year or two, if they dont find batsman then it would be difficult for them. Mahela has also passed his best as he score mere 100 runs in 3 test at an average of 20. NTC Parera is find for SL team. They need another fast bowler who can support Kulasekra. For Pakistan, Taufeeq is not learning from his mistakes, neither is Younis. He should be shown the doors. Gul was out of form as well. This final test will be remembered for Junaid, Azhar Ali and Asad performance, also not to forget Adnan who played a cameo in severe pain. Lastly congrats to SL team from a Pakistani fan.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 15:34 GMT

Good Srilanka desevred a series win after Murli retired. Very good batting by Sanga and Chandimal in Srilanka's 2 innings also very good bowling by Perea and Herath. What Srilanka should have done to win the 3rd test is stop Shaqiq from scoring 100 runs, but very good battting by Shaqiq and Ahazar. I hope Srilanka can win the series against India in Srilanka and hope that Srianka win the ICC T20 World Cup in Srilanka because Iam a big Srilankan Cricket fan and from Srilanka

Baundule
on July 12, 2012, 15:34 GMT

Supported Sri Lanka; but at the end it feels like a series loss. The won test was due to umpiring errors and Misbah's absence. Pakistan dominated the second test. And then Mahela spoiled the third test at the end.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 15:33 GMT

Well tbh it's not a bad result for pak (we needed this before the SA tour), we should've won this series easily but poor umpiring and umar gul lost us the series. Srilanka needed that win because they weren't winning any test series so it's a great plus for them. Umar gul performed very poorly on the 3rd day which gave away the momentum to the srilankans. We need a good right arm fast bowler who can swing the ball both ways and seam it. Talha is mainly an inswing bowler but he can bowl around 155 kph so he won't be a bad choice. But if sadaf performs in the next season then he should brought into the team right away. Now we go to SA for tests so we really need good fast bowlers because i don't see rehman getting a game over there and i don't want to see sami in the squad either because he has lost atleast 5 ks and is still not consistent. We need someone like asif who can move the ball both ways at a good line and length and imo that someone can be hammad azam , if used correctly.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 15:28 GMT

Jayasurya - Kalu to open shop and Murali to end the opposition's business -- both efforts as fast as possible... those days of Srilankan Cricket seems to be over.. at least for now!

Siri
on July 12, 2012, 15:21 GMT

There's absolutely nothing to congratulate Sri Lanka for at the end of this test. They got the congratulations they deserved at Galle, ok. Sri Lanka has a long, long way to go to get into anything like a professional outfit in terms of courage, guts, smart-moves etc. in test cricket. Cricket is a game, where you don't lose the sovereignty of your Nation if you lose one. It's a spectator sport where people come to enjoy and marvel at the standard of play. With that in mind, why or why did Mahela with all his intuition and experience decide not to make a game of it? The way SL was going up to tea they had a better than average chance of pulling it off. But no, he simply chickened out, as he had the series in his bag, which incidentally makes no difference to the rankings. What happened to all that bravado being Lanka Lions etc? I can't find a hole to hide now. I'm sure Mahela has no such problems. I am gutted!

Dinindu
on July 12, 2012, 15:13 GMT

Mahela said that he would not play safe.he could have proven his words. 2-0 win would be a huge pride for sri lanka. but still its a pride victory. all the best Sri lanka. but personaly i think eventhough we had been 1-1 after fighting for a win we would have been more prouder than going 1-0 after defending.

Dushan
on July 12, 2012, 15:07 GMT

This is seriously POOR cricket from SL.
Trying to get your first series win after the greatest bowler of all time is one thing, I mean I understand getting that monket off your back but trying to win a Test match with an asking rate of 3.77 RPO on a rather placid track is another thing.
Emphasis must be put on winning that respective game and not a silly series which at the end of the day is bunch of numbers!
I mean whats the worst ? 1-1 ???

bira
on July 12, 2012, 15:06 GMT

For anyone who says SL should have pushed for a victory even after the fall of Chandi and Mahela they just need to look at the scorecard from Cardiff. Guys this is a team who hadn't won a series in 3 years and a 1-0 series win is just as good as a 2-0 win.

Tony
on July 12, 2012, 15:05 GMT

year by year it seems like sri lanka the country which would have liked to have emulated the easy go, attacking mentality of the West Indies in past decades but it seems like their new generation of players are having that cliche india-pakistan mentality which is to play for statistics and draws if all is set for a series win. Chandimal in Lord's was a prime example of that statistics mentality as well as Mathews, a future captain who was more interested in blocking his way to a century at Colombo Oval instead of pushing for a win against the poms.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 14:58 GMT

mahela destoryed the momentum..chandimal set the tone but seniors were more interested about boosting their averages..This was a shameful display.However even pathetic the way these pakistani fans find excuses..Sri Lanka is a much better team than Pakistan in all formats

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 14:55 GMT

this is very negative..Not the SL brand of cricket .

Muhtasim
on July 12, 2012, 14:53 GMT

The Sri Lanka squad was more than capable of scoring at more than 4 runs per over. So its kind of disappointing to see that their run rate was just over 3 even though they had lot of wickets in hand.

atlas
on July 12, 2012, 14:51 GMT

Congratulations to sri lanka well played.1st test 1st inngs cost us 1st series lose in last 2 year.again a very brave inngs from adnan and asad keep it up.sangakara what player he is.we need 1 fast bowler more to support junaid.i think misbah didn't lose any series he didn't play in 1st test isn't?

Amjad
on July 12, 2012, 14:51 GMT

A test series victory awarded to SL by the umpires would have been the appropriate headline, rain saved them in the 2nd test and a much closer contest in the third one even though atleast a couple of decisions went against Pakistan in the 2nd and 3rd test too. Younus Khan was wrongly given out atleast 3 out of 6 times. A series victory on the back of 17 howlers is not a victory in my book. @jimmy2s: SL cant even afford the pick and chose policy when it comes to DRS, last time when England visited SL, it were the English who paid the DRS bill on behalf of SL cricket otherwise SL would have won that series 2-0 comfortably!

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 14:49 GMT

I too was very disappointed by Mahela's negative mind-set in putting up shutters with only two wickets down, not to mention negative field placing at the beginning of the day when Sri Lanka was in a great position to force a win. The great Australian teams of the past couple of decades always played for a win. I guess that's the difference between a world-beating team and one that is just struggling to win a single Test series.

Adil
on July 12, 2012, 14:44 GMT

Not surprised by the series result, just about right as these two teams are not apart in skills or rather lack of them............ Pak has an ordinary pace attack, with over rated Gul, who never performed at test level in his career and somehow always there un questioned, and a very inconsistent batting line up, and SL with more talented but equally in consistent batting line up, below average bowling attack.......... not surprised with the result.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 14:43 GMT

Well done Sri Lanka. Great performance. Congratulations to Sanga for the man of the series,........... Hope you guys play the same way with India........... Best Wishes from weerawila

AMIR
on July 12, 2012, 14:41 GMT

congrats SL u fully desrves this win. Pak can not hide behind the poor umpiring during the first test.They lost ODI & Test series mainly because of their poor batting and awful fielding.Azhar,Hafeez,Asad,Junaid and specially Ajmal fully deserve a credit for their contribution in Pak victories over the last 2 years. Younes & Umar Gul should be dropped for the better sake.How on oearth Misbah can bat most of the innings with a very poor strike rate but can not bat in the tests when strike is not the main issue. Pak won during last 2 years not because of him but coz of above mentioned guys. Yes he contributed to few losses though.Get rid of these senior players & bring the fresh blood who will have passion for the sport and pride of playing for our country.

Anjana
on July 12, 2012, 14:33 GMT

@Zahidsaltin: Sri Lankans were clear winners and you should be able to accept it. Yes, there were umpiring errors and most of the time, Pakistan was at the receiving end. However, that does not mean that it would have changed the final result. First appreciate good cricket. Since SLC cannot afford DRS, they opted for neutral, elite panel umpires. No other way of dealing it.

Uwaisul
on July 12, 2012, 14:30 GMT

Congratulations for Mahela & his team for winning the Test & ODI series against Pakistan. But I'm really regretting about Mahela's negative approach today. First he didn't attack enough to dismiss the last 2 Pakistani wickets in the morning. Then just after loosing the second wicket (at 132) he decided to shut out the run chase. Considering we had almost scored 50% target when Dinesh Chandimal was dismissed & having the likes of Thisara Perera and Anjelo Matthews & Nuwan Kulasekara who can use the long handle, Mahela didn't opt for any pinch hitters. Even if Mahela played his normal game we could have get nearer to the task with solid Sanga at the other end, by playing normal cricketing strokes. If Sri Lanka are to be competitive with the top ranked team such as South Africa & England they must have to approach the game with a more positive mindset & self confidence.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 14:24 GMT

I can see that a lot of sri lankan fans are disappointed by the fact that their team didn't go for the win and it's understandable. They certainly had the option and were in a good position to accomplish that. Having said that I can also understand the reserved approach from Mahela as it's something I have gotten used to with Misbah. Sri Lanka hasn't won a test series since Murali retired and I think that's a fact which has been on the player's minds for a while now so winning a series was more important than winning 2-0 (at least to them). There is a fine line in being brave and not underestimating the opposition, Pak has arguably one of the best bowling attacks at the moment and playing aggressively may have led to being bowled out under 200 (assuming catches were held). I have always thought Mahela has been one of the best captains I have seen so I will give him the benefit of doubt and I think next time he will go for the win...

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 14:23 GMT

I think Sri Lanka could've easily won this last Test. It wasn't a big score to make and when people like Sanga and Mathews were at the crease, it wouldn't have been an impossible task. I understand their mentality that they didn't want to risk loosing any more wickets but the way Sanga was hitting, if he was given a supportive and reliable partner, he could have kept playing his shots. None the less, congratulations to Sri Lanka on the series win! First the ODI series and now this, their morale and confidence must be very high. Now, a big task of defeating the Men in Blue lies ahead. Best of luck to both India and Sri Lanka, and commiserations to Pakistan on their loss.

Sirsak
on July 12, 2012, 14:17 GMT

yup sinhaya completely agreed with u .we could have atleast tried to chase the target by sending thisara and by playing a little faster. but nevertheless it was a great series for us.we dominated both odis and tests.there were many people here who before the series started was underestimating srilankans and telling how pak will win both odis and tests easily.lol.we all saw that.though the last year was a bit bad for us after the world cup but i always had faith in our team.afterall its not easy to maintain consistent performance after visiting wc finals 2 times in a rows.teams are bound to have bad days like we are seeing of the current australian side ..but i think the brand of cricket we are playing at the moment its just a matter of time be4 we become rank 1 in all format of the game.

Fez
on July 12, 2012, 14:16 GMT

1-0 is not a bad result for Pakistan, considering they were up against umpires, weather, injuries and the wall of Sri Lanka - Sangakkara - one of the best batsmen around at the moment.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 14:11 GMT

i am bit disappointed about SL chase. why we are so defensive????. I believe we should have been won this test. There was a clear possibility for that. Can u remember how AUS chase down 192 against WI recently. You have to be positive to win matches. brilliant captaincy there by clarke. These are the things AUS have, to be called them as the best test team in the world.Test matches are there to win not to save. we didnt try even we had big hitters like perera. Poor captaincy from mahela. this is one rare occasion of poor capt. from him. Anyway i am happy since SL won the series.

Sammy
on July 12, 2012, 14:10 GMT

A first series win at home since they last beat the mighty New Zealand in 2009 and that too against Pakistan...lolz.What an achievement!

chanaka
on July 12, 2012, 14:09 GMT

Pakistan played more positive cricket than srilankans. Obviously lankans had to win this.After the wicket of mahela, thisara had to be sent. chandimal played superb knock. credit goes to ajmal. He proved his quality again. However sri lankans were ahead of pakistan throughout the whole series, unfortunately they couldn't step up test rankings. Finally i wish all very bast for upcoming india series. It will be a fantastic battle.

Chatty
on July 12, 2012, 14:09 GMT

A target of 250 in two sessions, last day of a test match against a high quality bowling attack is always very tough. But still it is disappointing because there is no doubt that SL could have got those runs; have abundant talent on the batting side. They played it safe because this series win after a long time was crucial. Disappointing, but I can understand the thinking.

Fez
on July 12, 2012, 14:07 GMT

@Sinhaya! Kindly explain how SL were clear winners in Galle - DRS or no DRS, as u have mentioned. R u saying the result in Galle would still have been the same if SL batsmen wouldn't have got eight reprieves by umpirs in the first innings (six out of those eight were dead out - check Cricinfo's commentary). And r u saying that result in Galle would still be the same if three of Pakistan's batsmen weren't given out incorrectly in their first innings. If one team gets at least 10-12 decisions in their favour, how can they be clear winners? And in this match, if Para was given out that plumb LBW off Umar Gul towards the end of Day 1, result would still be the same? Congrats to SL for winning the series. No doubt they played good Cricket. But please don't deny the fact so bluntly.

Sai
on July 12, 2012, 14:00 GMT

Sri Lankan fans, please chill. You guys should be proud that you won the series, that too after 3 years. Mahela said he wanted to win the Test, but after Chandimal departed it was tough to go for it. Think what would have happened had they tried to go for it? Suppose it failed and wickets tumbled? Pakistan shouldn't feel bad about the way they performed, they were really good too. But the better team won in the end.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 13:59 GMT

Congratz for a great series win, but disappointed by the approach taken by Mahela, what seperates great teams and good teams is the hunger to win. Mahela should have sent Tissara and Kule or one of them to go for a win and if they failed could have drawn easily, since its a placid pitch.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 13:58 GMT

well played in the tests both teams. pakistan played pretty well but luck wasnt n their side in this series. i dont blame the team for the test series but i do blame them for the odi series

Sapho
on July 12, 2012, 13:53 GMT

As a South African who respects the wealth of talent in the Sri Lanka batting line up, I am seriously baffled with the way Sri Lanka went about the chase. It is like they made sure that they do not score runs just to make it certain that they will not get close. It was irresponsible and it does not good to test cricket. If they were worried about losing they should have let some bowlers bat first.

If that fails, then they bring the Mahela's and Sanga's to come and defend for 40 overs. But to give up as early as with 2 wickets down was ludacris.

Subash
on July 12, 2012, 13:48 GMT

Congratulations to SL on their series win. I hope the second match was not washed out. For PAK I think they have found their young Younis khan in Azhar and Asad who have showed gr8 temparament in test matches. It's time for Younis Khan to retire and let these youngsters carry PAK middle order load on their shoulders. Bring back Aamir and a solid opening batsmen and PAK will be world beaters.

muiz
on July 12, 2012, 13:47 GMT

Both teams played well in this absorbing game.. True SL could have pulled out another win but the feeling of not having won a series since the retirement of the great bowling legend Murali must have made them play safe after Chandimal lost his wicket just before tea. No one can deny that they never tried.

Joe
on July 12, 2012, 13:42 GMT

Finally this boring yet again series is over and congrats Sri Lanka for dominating this old Pakistan team. This is just one of the big signs that Pakistan have no future in Cricket :)

Wicky
on July 12, 2012, 13:37 GMT

@ALL lankan fans bashng at mahela,my frnds he did some blundrs during ths series bt was lucky enuf that those didn't backfird,he made a very wise decisin finaly by preservng a series win rathr than going 4 2.0 bcoz of simple reasn that ajmal was bowlng beautifuly n we could have seen a midle n lowr midl ordr colapse as al have strugld against him except sanga,dilu.CONGRATS LANKA,I HOPE DRS WOULD B AVAILABL when these two teams meet nxt time.thanks Allah our future looks secure due to junaid,azhar,asad

hani
on July 12, 2012, 13:35 GMT

Pakistan should immediately get rid of all the repeated failures of the past 10 years. Like Sami, Imran farhat and Faisal iqbal. Selectors should also keep check of Mr. Guls preformance. He just seems to have no competition, and is playing every match, despite of performing horribly.

narbavi
on July 12, 2012, 13:34 GMT

A series victory after more than 2 yrs?? Ha ha, now tell me why shouldn't i label your team as minnows?? All you guys can talk about is India getting whitewashed, yes we played two very poor series, but were winning all the way before that, infact we were even the no.1 test side exactly 12months ago, but look at your team, it took you more than two yrs to win a test series,

Manjunath
on July 12, 2012, 13:32 GMT

Surpising to see Srilamka's approach on last day. They could've promoted Mathews or Perera up the order and could've tried to win the match.
But anyway it was a good series, Well fought and at the end SL were deserved series winner.

Qasim
on July 12, 2012, 13:32 GMT

Didn't really expect Mahela to try and chase down the target of 250+ runs i mean what would be the point it would just give pakistan a chance to draw the series and i would expect any captain to do the same. As a pakistan fan i was really impressed with the younger players like Junaid, Azhar, Asad and Adnan especially batting with a broken finger and i think all our batsmen did well and have some form especially since our next series are against Australia at the UAE and South Africa away... weird we might be playing the number one test team in 2012 (england) and in 2013 (south africa)

V.L
on July 12, 2012, 13:31 GMT

Really sad end to what could have been an exciting test match. 4140 runs from 33 overs with 7 wickets in hand should have been chased down comfortably on their home turf.

Nilanka
on July 12, 2012, 13:27 GMT

Very disappointing. Not the fighting team we used to know. Why save a match because they are ahead in the series? Fighting teams with confidence in their batting lineups are not like this.

Prashan
on July 12, 2012, 13:18 GMT

I am surprised why we we opted to defend. Surely they should have sent Thisara after Mahela was dismissed to accelerate the scoring. Angelo is too notorious for non stop ball blocking. Great to win a test series and on Pakistan's point of view, Shafiq and Azhar Ali are the batting stars of the future but lack of batting depth will be an issue. For Sri Lanka, no real wicket taking bowlers which is a must for test cricket. For ODIs our bowling is good enough to control the run flow. DRS or no DRS, SL were the clear winners in Galle. SSC was too dead to produce any result.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 13:09 GMT

well...well....well..... Srilanka is passing a very bad time since last 2 and a half year. They played well in the ODI and Test series on their own soil. Now it is hard to say that how they will play outside their home !!! and it is again proved that without KS not a single batsman can fight against pak bowlers !!!

shahid
on July 12, 2012, 13:07 GMT

Wonderfull result. At last a series win without Murali but one should ask a question; what is the best scenario, having Murali in the squad or have Steve davis and Gould officiating the match. I would go for the last because even Murali couldn't take so many wickets as this pair of umpires gave us. These two heroes of Sirilanka should be awarded the national award for their services as umpires in this series.

nuwan
on July 12, 2012, 13:03 GMT

Disappointed Sri Lanka didn't push for a win in the end with so many wickets in hand. Why didn't they promote an aggressive batsmen like Perera up the order?

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 13:01 GMT

Mahela was so unlike the mahela we knew.... he was defensive from the word go... even more defensive in his batting stint....he spoiled the momentum chandimal created in the chase....If they were going for a draw,chandimal could have gone for his maiden century as well...as a sri lankan fan...very dissapointed...as a leader he could have done a better job than this....

AMIR
on July 12, 2012, 12:50 GMT

we were not expecting that SL would give up the chase. They were in a good position to win this match on a flat track but they did'nt. Anyhow its their decision they were in the position to win the series even after that. Congrats to SL for their better show in the whole series, they fully deserve the result for both ODI & Tests. For Pak,,Younes Khan should be dropped from all formats cz he has no passion left and just playing for himself so that he could make some more money before he retires.Azhar,Ajmal,Asad,Hafiz and even Junaid fully deserve credit & for their efforts over the 2 years but Misbah and Umar GUL should be critised for their part.Umar Gul has no class what so ever and always bottles it when it comes to big occasion or when Pak needs him,He doesnt know where to bowl n completely goes off line when goes for few bondaries,he should only b playing only T20., I dont understandt how on earth in ODI he can bat for most of the innings with a dead strike rate but cant in test

John
on July 12, 2012, 12:46 GMT

Have to say what a great , well fought contest. Congratulations SL and comiserations Pak. A topsy turvy test from beginning to end and a shame that rain took away a days play and therefore denying a natural result

khurram
on July 12, 2012, 12:43 GMT

congrats to SL for 1st win. Good end to series. Brave decision by misbah. if there was no rain we could have a result. 1st match made the difference. many poor umpiring decisions against pak but major reason was very very very poor batting in 1st inings 1st match. cant hide behind poor umpiring. then pak played better cricket after that 1st inings in 1st match. only bad luck preventing them. rain came in 2nd. & in this match they played well its just 1 bad session in SL's 1st inings in which they gave away few chances to para,samara, & parera which build lead.other than that well played. poor fielding is well known problem of pakistan had to work on it. bad luck. sami again showed that his this comeback again failed.

I
on July 12, 2012, 12:43 GMT

Well done to Sri Lanka for the positive result in this series, their slow growth has been rewarded with several players maturing in the test side. I wouldn't get too carried away though, there wasn't much between the two teams here; the umpires awarded the first test to Sri Lanka, and only rain saved them in the second. Again, wayward umpiring in the 3rd match denied us what should have been a much closer contest. This series has been crying out for DRS, let's hope the SL board get their act together and finance it properly, not the pick'n'mix approach they have now.

akhil
on July 12, 2012, 12:34 GMT

m sad.i think the sri lankans had a defencive mindset...a victory was quite gettable.but what did mahela do...11 of 44-odd balls.what i am trying to say is that they should have atleast tried to win.i remember last year indians were chasing around 180 runs in 2 sessions against the WI...they tried hard and on the last ball od the last day,the scores were levelled and the match was drawn,despite india having 2 wickets in hand...those sorts of stuffs make test cricket interesting

hamish
on July 12, 2012, 12:25 GMT

Can't blame SL for not going for victory in the end. This is a side who have not won a test series since 2010. As a SL fan it seems silly not to be more positive, but it makes sense when Pakistan have a lethal bowling attack with the likes of Ajmal on a 4th/5th day wicket not to risk a middle order collapse in the quest for quicker runs and a series tie rather than a one nil series win. If SL had collapsed and fallen 20 runs short, most fans would be cursing them, I sure would.

Saad
on July 12, 2012, 12:21 GMT

again i must praise adnan akmal's heroics... Mr. Adnan Akmal you have won a lot of hearts in Pakistan today... May Allah grant you a speedy recovery...

Atta ur Rehman
on July 12, 2012, 12:18 GMT

1st of all Congratulate to Srilankan Team for wining their 1st series after the Great Murali, now I give my full support to Misbah and Co. to reaching up to this level, Asad Shafiq and Adnan Played crucial innings, Adnan innings reminds me Salim Malik's innings in Faisal Abad against Windies, really the boys shown the character, Saeed Ajmal took against 3 wicket and become the highest wicket taker in this calender year total 39 wicket in only 6 matches, really great, and dear Mr. Whatmore kindly look at Umar Gull his performance in minus zero, please see his replacement, bring Tanvir Ahmad or other fresh blood

Srisha
on July 12, 2012, 12:17 GMT

Very disappointing to see SL not going for the kill. Winning the series 1-0 is not at all convincing when there was a great chance to make it 2-0. Even 1-1 would have meant more than what they have achieved. It's the same kind of lack of effort & killer instinct that saw them lose the WC final to India. This is an unwanted message SL has sent out to WorldT20 contenders, when they have the armoury & home advantage. You lost it Mahela.

I didn't expect Pakistan to lose since they beat England but it is Misbah's first series loss. But SL's first series win since Murali's retirement. Perhaps its because England are never very good in UAE. Losing against a lower ranked side like SL should serve as a lesson to Pakistan not to be complacent.

Saad
on July 12, 2012, 12:15 GMT

great match of test cricket. just what was required to shove off the non believers. unfortunately Pakistan lost the series but the performances from Junaid, Azhar, Shafiq and Adnan have proved that we have a bright future in cricket only if we keep working harder and harder. Insha Allah. Congratulations to Srilanka. Pakistan needs to find a wicket taking fast bowler as soon as they can to support junaid.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 12:13 GMT

Well played SL without Mahela,,He did captaincy for Pakistan in this match than SL,,.Mahela got 11 runs for 44 balls in second innings..what a inning to draw this match without win,,by any means this is poor captaincy. Please don`t do it again ,

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 12:03 GMT

WELL DONE BOYS.....U ALL ARE PLAYING REAL CRICKET LAST FEW GAMES ..KEEP IT UP......

No featured comments at the moment.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 12:03 GMT

WELL DONE BOYS.....U ALL ARE PLAYING REAL CRICKET LAST FEW GAMES ..KEEP IT UP......

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 12:13 GMT

Well played SL without Mahela,,He did captaincy for Pakistan in this match than SL,,.Mahela got 11 runs for 44 balls in second innings..what a inning to draw this match without win,,by any means this is poor captaincy. Please don`t do it again ,

Saad
on July 12, 2012, 12:15 GMT

great match of test cricket. just what was required to shove off the non believers. unfortunately Pakistan lost the series but the performances from Junaid, Azhar, Shafiq and Adnan have proved that we have a bright future in cricket only if we keep working harder and harder. Insha Allah. Congratulations to Srilanka. Pakistan needs to find a wicket taking fast bowler as soon as they can to support junaid.

Dummy4
on July 12, 2012, 12:16 GMT

I didn't expect Pakistan to lose since they beat England but it is Misbah's first series loss. But SL's first series win since Murali's retirement. Perhaps its because England are never very good in UAE. Losing against a lower ranked side like SL should serve as a lesson to Pakistan not to be complacent.

Very disappointing to see SL not going for the kill. Winning the series 1-0 is not at all convincing when there was a great chance to make it 2-0. Even 1-1 would have meant more than what they have achieved. It's the same kind of lack of effort & killer instinct that saw them lose the WC final to India. This is an unwanted message SL has sent out to WorldT20 contenders, when they have the armoury & home advantage. You lost it Mahela.

Atta ur Rehman
on July 12, 2012, 12:18 GMT

1st of all Congratulate to Srilankan Team for wining their 1st series after the Great Murali, now I give my full support to Misbah and Co. to reaching up to this level, Asad Shafiq and Adnan Played crucial innings, Adnan innings reminds me Salim Malik's innings in Faisal Abad against Windies, really the boys shown the character, Saeed Ajmal took against 3 wicket and become the highest wicket taker in this calender year total 39 wicket in only 6 matches, really great, and dear Mr. Whatmore kindly look at Umar Gull his performance in minus zero, please see his replacement, bring Tanvir Ahmad or other fresh blood

Saad
on July 12, 2012, 12:21 GMT

again i must praise adnan akmal's heroics... Mr. Adnan Akmal you have won a lot of hearts in Pakistan today... May Allah grant you a speedy recovery...

hamish
on July 12, 2012, 12:25 GMT

Can't blame SL for not going for victory in the end. This is a side who have not won a test series since 2010. As a SL fan it seems silly not to be more positive, but it makes sense when Pakistan have a lethal bowling attack with the likes of Ajmal on a 4th/5th day wicket not to risk a middle order collapse in the quest for quicker runs and a series tie rather than a one nil series win. If SL had collapsed and fallen 20 runs short, most fans would be cursing them, I sure would.

akhil
on July 12, 2012, 12:34 GMT

m sad.i think the sri lankans had a defencive mindset...a victory was quite gettable.but what did mahela do...11 of 44-odd balls.what i am trying to say is that they should have atleast tried to win.i remember last year indians were chasing around 180 runs in 2 sessions against the WI...they tried hard and on the last ball od the last day,the scores were levelled and the match was drawn,despite india having 2 wickets in hand...those sorts of stuffs make test cricket interesting

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